Hypermiling might be a new trend in driving with the high gas prices we
now have—prices that probably won’t be going down anytime soon.
The other night, a guy on TV who tries all kinds of tactics to increase his gas mileage claims upward of 50 miles per gallon. He rolls his car down the driveway into the street before turning it on, coasts in neutral, turns the motor off when at a stoplight and even turns the car off while coasting down the road. Don’t know how safe that is or even if it’s legal.
I tried my own version of hypermiling this past weekend on a short trip to Wichita.
For the first 35 miles I set the cruise on 55. I didn’t pass anyone at that speed except for the two cars that were stopped at the side of the road.
My wife said it seemed a bit slow on I-135 since the speed limit is 70—and many drivers easily exceed that. At that point I said I could count the blades of grass in the median at 55 mph.
There are definite advantages to driving slower than everyone else, especially on a four-lane highway. You never have to brake when you come up on a slower car when going the speed limit or faster, and have to wait because there is traffic coming up from the rear. You won’t be catching up with anybody.
The other bonus is that you have another 10 minutes each way to have meaningful conversations with your spouse.
The Chingawassa Days committee has done it again. They’re bringing the all-American band, Grand Funk Railroad, to Central Park this Saturday night.
It would be un-American not to hear them. And it’s easy to buy tickets. Just go to chingawassa.com for the toll-free number.
It’s almost time for the 78th annual Marion County Fair, which is coming to town July 23-26. This time of year has become a very important date at our household since our grandsons are making it one of their traditional summer activities.
So far they’ve been to the beach in Florida along the Gulf Coast and will be camping in the mountains of South Carolina before they arrive here in July.
Former Hillsboroan and HHS instructor Jim Vanek writes an outdoor column for the Greeley Colorado Tribune.
In one of his recent columns, he writes about bierrocks and strawberry pie, referring to Hillsboro days.
If you’d like to read it, go to greeleytrib.com and search for Vanek or type in http://www.
greeleytrib.com/article/20080509
/OUTDOORS/493663793.
“Ice Road Truckers” is back this Sunday at 8 p.m. on the History Channel. One of our readers, who also really likes the show, wrote to let me know that all of the first season will air throughout the day Sunday prior to the first show of Season 2.
This year some of the same drivers will be back, plus some new ones. They will be driving across the Arctic Ocean this time. Are they crazy?
We got our “Chinese loan,” as one local described the stimulus checks that our government is doling out these days.
The cost isn’t just the “loans” but also involves sending a letter that states the check is coming, plus the postage to mail the check, if you don’t have your “refund” deposited in your bank account. Take that times 130 million households and you’re talking serious money.
From what I’ve been reading, the impact will be a blip on the radar screen when it’s all over.
